THE TEACHERS’ UNION of ireland has accepted a proposed agreement with the Education and Skills Department which aimed to address the issues that led to the union rejection the Lansdowne Road Agreement (LRA).
Union members voted this evening to accept a proposed agreement with the government by a margin of 63% to 37%.
The union said that a key to members accepting the proposals was the expectation that the “scandal of discriminatory pay” that affects new teachers would be dealt with.
The acceptance of the proposals means that the union members effectively accept the LRA – which they will be covered under from 1 July.
The TUI, along with the other teachers’ union ASTI, had previously rejected the LRA.
However, it’s move to accept the government proposals signals a shift which will see ASTI more isolated.
ASTI voted 10 days ago to stop working an extra 33 hours that had been agreed under the previous Croke Park agreement – which may see members lose out on pay restoration.
In its statement this evening, TUI said that the new agreement “addresses issues which were not dealt with by the LRA”.
“[The agreement] provides tangible concessions as well as additional stepping stones for further progress on workload, staffing and funding, terms and conditions, bureaucracy and professional autonomy,” the union said.
By accepting the proposals from the Education Department, the teachers will be entitled to to benefits of the LRA -including pay restoration and protection from compulsory redundancy.
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